Happy birthday, Joe Jackson!

Joe Jackson turns 52 today, and to celebrate, I headed to YouTube to dig up the clip for 1982’s ”Steppin Out,” one of the first videos to get me hooked on MTV. (Click here to see it yourself.) I’m pleased to report that 24 years later, this simple, wistful bit of storytelling – like Maid in Manhattan, only realistic – holds up remarkably well, capturing the mood of Jackson’s superb ditty, without resorting to a literal interpretation of the lyrics. (Even the fashions look halfway decent!) Better still, there’s not a hot pants-clad hoochie or any seizure-inducing edits to be found. Hmmm. Perhaps ”Steppin Out” should be required viewing for every new artist about to embark on the video-making process.